Orono champion Gary Hunter, 51, was in woodsy Indiana, not coastal Italy. But he popped a biggie last Saturday at the Vault High Summer Classic in Fort Wayne. Here’s a video of his M50 world record 16-0 jump. (I hope they measured it metrically at 4.88.) He thus beat his own 15-7 from nationals six weeks earlier. Also noteworthy was event organizer Paul Babits, 47, who vaulted 16 himself. (Paul’s M45 best appears to be 5.00, or 16-4 3/4). Nice jumps, Gary and Paul. On to 17!

This must be a record. The official photographers at Riccione say they have 131,534 images online of worlds. What? No outtakes? I viewed a couple hundred, and they are technically solid but bloodless. All sharpness but no drama. To view these shots, look for the “Seleziono Evento” dragdown menu in the upper right of the page. Then specify Riccione and click “Ricerca” (search). Other online galleries due soon include Lesley Richardson’s Rikko2Photo, based in the UK; Douglas J. Smith’s Canada-centric gallery; and the masters athletics gallery by Britain’s Tom Phillips. Some are under construction — like this blog (now with 1,500 entries).

The best masters hurdler in the world wasn’t in Riccione. He was off doing his own thing. Yesterday, Allen Johnson, age 36, won a race against a bunch of Osaka finalists. His time was 13.33 — over 42-inch hurdles, not 39-inch masters barriers. But that’s not even his best time of the season. Allen ran 13.23 in Zurich. His best time in 2006, when he entered M35, was a mere 12.96 at Athens. Yet the listed M35 American record remains 13.26 by Greg Foster in 1994. That’s because Greg ran 39-inch hurdles. Sorry, AJ. You’re not quite good enough for us.

Sacramento 2011 should be a first-rate event, especially in terms of marketing and publicity. A news release crafted by Mark Winitz, the host association’s communications manager, is a model for how USATF as a national body should treat masters. (Indy HQ has yet to do a wrapup of the meet. Sigh.) Anyway, Mark featured Joy Upshaw-Margerum in his release, which was headlined: “UPSHAW-MARGERUM EARNS FOUR MEDALS AND U.S. RECORD AT WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS.” Read on.

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YouTube and Riccione TV have posted the same videos from the meet, which ended Saturday. The one below is pretty representative. You get music from the soundtrack of “Kill Bill” and MTV-style editing, which means you don’t see a fraction of a jump or throw you want to view. Very frustrating. But at least you can spot M50 high jump winner Jim Barrineau on approach and getting some air. He’s the tall bald guy in long dark leg tights. Probably jumps at lower heights. (Anyone else you recognize?)

Worlds is in the books. The Riccione medal table has been posted — with Germany (and its 900-member team) taking first as expected with 315 medals (108 of them gold). But you won’t find Ben James’ award noted in the M50 results for the 400. In fact, his official time in the final was 1:11.97. Ben, the M50 champion at Orono last month, took last after an amazing comeback from cancer. Did he pull a hammie? Lose a shoe on the turn? Nope. Here’s how world champion Nolan Shaheed described the race — and its touching aftermath.

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An Italian student in my wife’s ESL class says Riccione is known as a wild-and-crazy resort where, like Las Vegas, whatever “happens in Riccione, stays in Riccione.” But when it comes to the world masters meet, don’t be shy! Meet results barely scratch the surface, so take advantage of the miracle of email and send me your stories. If you want your name withheld, just let me know. How were you treated? What was the town like? Were your events run professionally? What was the weather like (after the opening hurricane)? Spill the beans! And thanks for your efforts!

Led by the world records of two Atlanta-area athletes, Americans combined for several dozen medals in the final two days of the 17th World Masters Athletics Championships in Riccione, Italy. The meet ended today with the powerful German and British teams claiming many relay medals, but Team USA collected plenty of hardware and also set at least six American records. Phil Raschker of Marietta, Georgia, ended up with 10 gold medals for the meet –- tying her record haul from 1997 worlds in Durban, South Africa. Her neighbor Jeanne Daprano of Atlanta set a W70 world record by winning the 400 in 1:17.92. That beat the listed WR of 1:18.26 by South Africa’s Veronica Welgemoed in 2002. Jeanne’s husband, Bill, didn’t just cheer her on. Bill ran on two AR relay teams in the M80 age group. (Details below.)

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The September issue of National Masters News is out, and despite its 44 pages, it has only a handful of ads. A single back-page ad probably accounts for the bulk of its non-subscription revenue this month — a full-color production featuring photos of masters stars Frank Condon, Kathy Jager, Nolan Shaheed and Rick Easley. Yes, I’ve covered this ground, but the full-page ad in NMN for StemEnhance and the flashy Web site it promotes just blew me away for chutzpah and pseudoscientific crap. Hey! Not only is this a fountain of youth, but it also provides a fountain of wealth! Click on the BMW link at the site, and learn how you can get any of several models for being a StemTech sales rep. Poor NMN. Can’t it make money with legit products?

This is the most haunting masters track story I’ve ever heard. I’ll let M55 world silver medalist Tom Fahey tell it himself. This is what Tom posted on The Ring after getting back from Riccione worlds: “Ralph (Fruguglietti) was born in Italy and speaks Italian fluently. He was visiting Venice and heard of a training facility about 100 miles to the south. The facility was in the country in a back-water part of Italy. The track looked like something out of Field of Dreams. The grass was meticulously mowed and the field was surrounded by tall evergreens. There were first rate throwing areas for the discus, shot, hammer, and javelin.” Read on!

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